'OUR NIGHT AFTER THE FINAL WAS SPECIAL - BUT WE KEPT IT PG!'

LOVE ISLAND WINNERS JESS HARDING AND SAMMY ROOT EXCLUSIVELY TALK TO OK! ABOUT THEIR ROLLER-COASTER JOURNEY IN THE VILLA AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

- GEMMA MCCARTNEY

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Every year as the final of Love Island approaches there’s one hot topic on fans’ minds: which couple will be crowned the nation’s favourites? This year, it was a close call right to the very last minute. On the night itself, it was a victory for Jess Harding and Sammy Root, both 22, who pipped popular couple Whitney Adebayo and Lochan Nowacki to the post.

Having gone through ups and downs on the show – like Sammy getting to know other girls and being voted the least compatible couple – they finally made amends after Casa Amor and haven’t looked back. And when we catch up with them for their first exclusive shoot, they explain that despite their earlier challenges and ultimatums, there is now solid trust between them.

“In the past I’ve had trust issues, but I’ve not even once thought, ‘What’s he doing? Who’s he texting?’ when we’ve not been around each other,” Jess tells us. “That’s actually so important.”

Sammy agrees. “When I asked you to be my girlfriend, that means it’s just you, it’s not a case of anyone else,” he explains. “Since me and Jess have become boyfriend and girlfriend, the trust is just there. From that moment, we haven’t given each other any reason not to trust each other. We’re both happy we had a major roller-coaster and a lot of tests because it does prepare you for the outside world. It wasn’t easy, we made mistakes, but now we 100% trust each other.”